Last week a small group of advocates worked together to halt the demolition of twenty-four city-owned properties. David Torke of fixbuffalo, Daniel Ash of Farmers and Builders, Mark Kubinec, and myself documented the existing conditions of the properties to determine if demolition really was necessary. Check out this Google Map for the locations of the properties which was generated by David. Now before anyone cries obstructionist or declares how necessary and wonderful shovel-ready sites are, let me explain.
The City of Buffalo has no strategic demolition plan. That means if they own it and cannot sell it, they will tear it down. As a result, two city-owned properties often occupy the same block and the better of the two is torn down first. Take for example these two buildings on Leroy Avenue by Kensington Avenue. This end of the block has been decimated in recent years, the googlemap image shows how dense it was in 2008, but now only two buildings remain.
Check out the two pictures below and just guess which one is slated for demolition.
If you guessed the home on the left, with all of the windows blown out and open to the elements, you guessed wrong. In fact it's the corner building on the right, which has only a few broken windows and a roof that appears to be only a few years old. This intersection has an active property on the other three corners, potentially a great place for a little urban node to develop. The importance of corner buildings and lots cannot be underscored. They are focal points in a community and act as a sort of gateway to the area.
In a city which has continued to lose population over previous decades to believe everything can and will be saved is ludicrous. However, it is equally ridiculous not to consider what has the potential to be reused rather than adding to the already overfilled landfills.
There are many different components to consider when determining what has the potential to be reused, but the two which stand out the most are condition and surrounding context. Simply put, if a house has severe structural issues and is in the middle of an already decimated block, that house is likely an appropriate demolition candidate. However, if a house has only minimal issues and is located in a dense neighborhood with few other vacancies or empty lots, that's one to reconsider.
Take for example this lovely little bungalow located at 329 Wyoming Avenue. A quick check of the old city directories tells me that the home was built between the late 1910s and early 20s. It was originally home to a New York Central Railroad engineer, Preston L. King. From a historical standpoint its truly wonderful to imagine Preston toiling over designs late at night in his wonderful bungalow, maybe even developing innovative concepts for the company. Although King is long gone, the history is still very much alive and embodied in that home. It retains much of its original integrity and the only thing which seems to be an issue is the partially rotted soffit and a single open window.
Houses which line Wyoming Avenue are well maintained by prideful, middle class, African American families. There are very, very few vacant homes and even less vacant lots. How someone could possibly explain to the community that an empty lot would be better than rather than reusing the home is beyond me. It could even be rehabilitated as a Habitat for Humanity home or maybe by a homesteader willing to move from the suburbs and reinvest in the city, which is becoming increasingly less rare.
Efforts are currently underway to forge a partnership with the city to invest in a more strategic plan for demolition. Identifying properties which have the greatest potential for reuse and located in dense neighborhoods is crucial. Buffalo is a big city and too often City Hall does not have the staff to keep up with the demand for demolition. There needs to be more consideration for these properties so that they can re-contribute to city taxes, maintain the character of these underappreciated neighborhoods, but most of all, be homes to families which are willing to reinvest in Buffalo.
Congratulations to all involved-this is a great service to the city.
Contrary to the haters who will surface shortly, I truly believe we will want and need this housing in short order; the West Side is getting pricier and pioneers (such as Farmers & Builders) have started on initiatives which are changing the perception of the East Side (where most of the demos seem to be taking place).
I agree with most others, more in the know: we need true political leadership who espouses progressive programs (land banking, etc.), which we are simply not getting with Brown. The non-strategy strategy (coupled by the vinyl-sided newbuilds) could forever deter future investment in these areas.